Christmas Cookies

Every year at Christmas time I try to do something to evoke memories with my daughters. In years past we have done things like, make cinnamon rolls or goodie bags to deliver to our few neighbors. This year we did not deliver any goodies, but instead made them and ate them.

It being the Christmas Holiday I was able to watch Martha Stewart at 10:00 am. Usually I am at school and not able to watch. So, girlie's be gone, Martha is on. I am watching. One of her segments was on decorating Christmas cookies. Idea! I can do this with the girls. It would be fun and maybe they will remember us working together around the table decorating cookies. And to top it all off I have the issue with the recipes and pictures to go by. Okay off to Wal-Mart for supplies.

To make our Christmas cookies you'll need.

cookie cutters
sugar cookie dough
1 1lb box powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
your choice of sprinkles, m&m's, non paraels, sanding sugar
a squeeze bottle
tooth picks
paper plates

Cut, bake and cool your cookies. I found in the Martha Stewart article that she baked her cookies long and slow. 325 degrees for 20 minutes. This made the cookies less brittle.

J made Christmas trees
E made snowmen.

I cut out candy canes and stars..


Mix icing:
Mix together powdered sugar, 1/2 of the milk, and vanilla. Mix slowly or you'll have white counters. You want the consistency to be smooth, not thick and not runny, somewhere in between. If you need to add milk do so, just a little at a time until it looks good. Pour into your squeeze bottle. I found this to be an amazing tool.

Now to decorate:
On a paper plate. Take one cookies. Using the squeeze bottle filled with icing, outline the shape of where you want a single color to be. For the candy canes I used all the same color, so I outlined the whole cookie. Then zig zag a line of icing in between the outline. Using your toothpick, smooth the icing together until it is solid. Now pour on the sprinkles. Pour off the excess and go to the next cookie. The paper plate make it so easy to pour the excess back into you sprinkle container when you are done. Now move to the next color and repeat.

The girls loved it. I found it hard to believe that my 4 year old was so much better at following directions than my 9 year old. I think it may have something to do with attitude. Hmmm... who would have ever thought that.

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Food for thought....

I am married to a mailman. To be more specific my husbands day job is to deliver mail in a small rural city. He's really a confounded country boy that chooses to work outside the home.

Do you make goodies for your mailman? Every year my husband comes home with loads and loads of goodies he finds in mailboxes or receives from the little ladies just waiting and watching for him. I sometimes wonder if delivering the mail is all he does....

He ask me with several days notices this year if I had made something for Linda our mail-carrier. Well, I know Linda has recently went on a health diet and has lost a lot of weigt so with a guilty conscience I chose not to make her any food. But next year I am going to make her something realy good. I just could not bring myself to help her get off course. I wish I had more of her discipline.

But candy....I actually make these every year. These are infact so very easy to make.

Make them for you mailmain next year.

Peanut Clusters

1 3lb container of salted dry roasted peanuts
1 package of chocolate almond bark

Open the package of almond bark. Break into pieces. Place in a glass mircowavable bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir. Repeat until consistency is smooth.

Pour peanuts into melted almond bark. Stir until peanuts are coated well.

Dollop out by spoonful onto alumnum foi. Let set until cooled and hardened. Package in container or pretty bag.

Merry after Christmas!

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Cold and frosty morning

This morning proved to be beautiful. I had to stop and record the scene.





Here are the fatten' babies having a drink after their breakfast.




What a beautiful old goat barn. I love the sunshine reflecting off the frosted roof.



Fresh. The sun hasn't touched the backside of the hill yet.



The stark black and white makes this feel so cold. But, I seem drawn to the black and whites everytime.

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